FIRST thing Andy Murray asked on waking up from his back operation was: “Did I win?” The second may well have been: “Who?”

After the Bank of England went for a Canadian to look after the nation’s cash, compatriot Mike Downey has been handed the keys to the world’s richest tennis bank as the new chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association.

Downey, who was president and chief executive of Tennis Canada for nine years, stepped out yesterday at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in Roehampton after being selected from 350 applicants for one of the top jobs in British sport.

He was the unanimous choice of a five-strong recruitment committee who interviewed 30 people to replace Roger Draper, whose controversial term saw various strategies for British tennis, which were overshadowed when news emerged of his £400,000-a-year salary topped up with a £240,000 performance bonus.

Downey oversaw a 30 per cent rise in tennis participation in his term of office in Canada on an annual budget of about £6.5million compared with at least £30m in Britain.

“We are not going to see a tennis revolution, we will try to execute improvement with excellence,” said Downey, 56, whose salary will be £300,000 a year, with a 30 per cent bonus tied to “stringent” conditions.

“The LTA have a new mission to get people playing – we need to make it easier to play and if that means more facilities, then that is what we need to target.

“The opportunity we have with Andy Murray as a two-time Grand Slam champion, with probably more to come, is immense. We need to work with him with his approval. His greatest gift to British tennis is what he has achieved. You can’t buy that kind of support.”

New LTA chief Downey values having someone like Murray to inspire the younger generation [PA]

Britain is a founding nation of tennis, a Grand Slam country, and, obviously, Britain will not accept less than excellence.

Mike Downey

Murray rose from outside the LTA system but Downey says he has no problem with young players working with private coaches and that they should be encouraged and funded.

“We need to give more resources to private coaches if that is what is required,” said Downey, who has decided the LTA name will stay rather than changing to a more inclusive Tennis Britain.

“Mini-tennis is vital to the growth of the sport. We need to get rackets into the hands of kids very early. You don’t need courts for that, it can be played anywhere, and we should encourage that.

“If tennis is too expensive for most people then we will need to tackle that. In Canada 80 to 90 per cent of people who play do so on public courts, and there are only 120 indoor courts.

“Britain is a founding nation of tennis, a Grand Slam country, and, obviously, Britain will not accept less than excellence.”